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Systematic Reviews

Bibliographic databases

In Cochrane Handbook, you may find a list of resources for review authors which might include some free sources to search. It is provided to support and complement the Technical supplement to Chapter 4: Searching for and selecting studies. The Appendix of resources is maintained by Julie Glanville (julie@glanville.info).

Appendix of resources is available here: https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-04-appendix-resources

Databases

Content

Disciplines

Strength

PubMed  

PubMed® comprises more than 32 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

Medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems, preclinical sciences

  • Free
  • Include preprint articles
  • Allow download up to 10,000 citations to EndNote
Embase Embase includes six million+ records and 2,900+ journals that are not covered by MEDLINE. *Allied health (e.g. chiropractic, dietetics, radiography) 
*Drugs, pharmacology, medical devices, allied health
  • Strong in drug/pharmaceuticals
  • Includes conference proceedings
  • Emtree terms updated every 3 months compared to MeSH terms (update once per year)
  • Includes all journals in MEDLINE plus 2,900 more
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) is a highly concentrated source of reports of randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. Medical and biomedical science literature compiled from other databases such as PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Social Care Online, ERIC, AMED 
  • Include both published and unpublished randomised and quasi-randomized controlled trials
  • Download all citations to EndNote

Scopus

Scopus is a multidisciplinary database which delivers the most comprehensive overview of the world’s research output. 

Social sciences, physical sciences, health sciences, life sciences

  • Strong in analytic tool
  • Allow citation searching
  • Download up to 2000 citation to EndNote

Web of Science Core Collection

The Web of Science Core Collection serves as the standard data set underpinning the journal impact metrics found in the Journal Citation Reports and the institutional performance metrics found in InCites.

Sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities 

  • Strong in analytic tool
  • Allow citation searching
  • Download up to 500 citation to EndNote

CINAHL Complete (EBSCO)

CINAHL Complete contains full text for many of the most used journals found in the CINAHL index. It overs 50 nursing specialties as well as allied health subjects including speech and language pathology, nutrition, physical therapy and much more. 

Biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complimentary medicine, consumer health, nursing, and other allied health disciplines 

  • Core database for nursing and allied health subjects
  • Provides full text for nursing and allied health journals indexed in the CINAHL Database which can't find in other databases
  • Download citations to EndNote (save to folder page by page or receive email link to download all citations)

PsycINFO (Ovid) 

Journals covered if psychologically relevant, archival, scholarly, peer-reviewed, and regularly published journal titles. 99% are peer-reviewed journals. 

Psychological, social, behavioural and health sciences  

  • Core database for  psychology and the psychological aspects of related research topics
  • Comprehensive coverage from  1806 to present
  • Download citations to EndNote

MEDLINE (Ovid) 

See PubMed

See PubMed

  • Advanced search options to support proximity search or wildcards
  • Download citations to EndNote
FSTA (Ovid) FSTA® – Food Science and Technology Abstracts covers topics relating to every aspect of the food chain including all the major food commodities plus biotechnology, microbiology, food safety, additives, nutrition, packaging and pet foods.  Pure and applied research in food science, food technology, food-related human nutrition
  • Core database for food science & technology
  • It contains more than 1.5million records
  • Cover 1969 – present
  • Download citations to EndNote

ERIC (ProQuest)

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) provides a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and information for educators, researchers, and the general public. Coverage from 1966 to the present.

All levels (early childhood, elementary, secondary, higher, adult, vocational), languages and linguistics, reading and communication skills, teacher education, counselling and personnel services, education management, handicapped and gifted children 

  • Core database for education research topics
  • Authors and publishers have given ERIC permission to display more than 350,000 full-text materials available—at no charge. Many of these materials are "grey literature".
  • Download citations to EndNote

LLBA (ProQuest) 

Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences

Linguistics, hearing and speech, interpersonal behaviour and communication, learning disabilities, mental retardation, morphology, nonverbal communication, writing systems, philosophy of language, semantics, semiotics, special education, theory of linguistics e.t.c 

  • Core database for linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences
  • One of LLBA’s greatest assets is its broad geographic scope. It includes titles from over 100 countries.
  • Download citations to EndNote

Social Science Database (ProQuest)

The Social Science Database offers indexing and full text for hundreds of academic journals.

Social science disciplines including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology. 

  • Select multiple databases within single platform for social science collection
  • Download citations to EndNote

ASSIA (ProQuest)

The Applied Social Sciences Index Abstracts (ASSIA) is designed to meet the information needs of the caring professions, and spans the literature that include abstracts and indexes over 500 journals.

Health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, race relations and education.

  • Core database for social sciences topic
  • Download citations to EndNote